Thursday, June 30, 2011

I searched long and hard for a new suspension setup that would fit into the NASA ruleset and give me the top quality performance I demanded and not empty my wallet! AST was really the only option that fit all of those critera. I needed a quality non-inverted shock (non piggyback; no external reservoirs) that was a max of 2 way adjustable.

Enter the AST 4000 series. I settled on the single adjustable 4100's. And to this point in the year; we've made absolutely zero changes to them! Thanks to Aaron at the Winning Formula for all the presale guidance, setup and continued support.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Went and picked up the car from Boostin Performance Friday night. Left work around 3:30pm and made the trip up to Chicago. I got pretty lucky with traffic; going the opposite direction and all. I spent about an hour at the shop talking with Devin and Kristin about the car and what all it's been through in the past few years.

I packed things up and headed back home; yep it was a turn-around trip! Made it safely back about 11pm. Exhausted...

In the pic of my car and my buddy Ryan's white Evo that was coincidentally in for a transmission repair too. We both decided on Boostin Performance; each with our first trip there!

We'll both be running the cars in a few weeks at the next NASA event - July 9-10th at Autobahn Country Club; just South of Chicago. Wish us luck!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

After my last track event in Michigan, I decided there was a good hole in the schedule to get the transmission addressed. It had developed a small grind into 5th at my first event of the year.

Till this point, the trans has been great. Car has 24,000 miles on it and around 70 days on track. I've been using Redline fluids in the trans for awhile. I change them 2-3 times a year as it's a pretty easy job. But with all the heat generated from road-racing and the fact the car has pumped out 300-370whp since the first month I got it (April/2006) vs the 250whp stock... I knew it was only a matter of time.

So rather than it locking out and screwing me at the track to a DNF, or causing worse damage to the entire gearbox - I wanted to have it pulled before Nationals in September. And this was a good gap in the schedule. Doubley so as I'd be passing back by Chicago on the way home which is where the work would get done.

As to where in Chicago... that's something I've been trying to decide since about April! Quality of work was #1, and cost was a #2. Scheduling, timeframe and availability was #3.

I called around, talked to a few new shops, priced things, got timelines, etc. I ended up deciding to work with Devin at Boostin Performance. Heard a lot of good things, but I'd never even met the guy before. I told him my timeline and he volunteered to meet me at the shop on Sunday for a dropoff on the way back from my Michigan track event. That right there was huge for me; saves me a night in a hotel and a 1/2 day off work (assuming a monday morning dropoff).

Monday, June 13, 2011

The TT group was the first group out on track - 8am. Very early. I figured the track might be a little damp, but I was wrong. After about 1.5 laps of 'recon' I started pushing it. I ran a solid time of 1:39.6 but I didn't have the optimal tire/pressure setup so I left some on the table as I did not think the track would be optimal. It was almost a grave mistake as another TTA car ran a 1:39.0 but got called for 4-wheels-off and DQ'd for that session!

Session #2 was at 9:45am so still pretty early. I set everything up, left the wing alone and fired a 1:38.9 which was my fastest of the weekend, reset my track record from Saturday and stood for 1st in TTA on Sunday to give me the weekend sweep!

I pushed the car hard through every session this weekend; really hard! Because of the track layout, I think I was pushing near 7500 rpms 4 times per lap. I kept expecting to find the rev limiter on the front straight but never did. So lots of high rpm revving in 4th, high oil temps, lost rubber, cranked up boost, etc. Everything help up beautifully though. Thx as always for a great tune from AMS Performance.

It's been a pretty good year thus far. 8 wins in 8 events and track records at all 4 tracks I've been to. I've got some ideas for things to change and a lot of mid-season maintenance to take care of before a busy July schedule. Check out the progress via or twitter (@boomn29).

Vid from Sunday:
This is actually my fastest lap of the weekend. Only the audio sucks as the camera is clicking off the window; install error! Still, the car that passes me is a TTS Vette which is 1 class up from me. He's also the 2009 Nat'l champion. We nearly get 3 wide around T6...check it out!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

After driving up late Friday night (~6 hrs), got up Saturday, unloaded all the remaining crap inside the car, unloaded the car and did a little prep. This was the first time the car had been off the trailer since being loaded at Putnam Park May 15th! Only changes were a quick wash and I had installed a Kognition rear wing on the car since!

With the new wing set at the lowest possible angle, I lined up and ran a 1:43 for the practice session which put me #3 in grid for the entire TT group. Always strive to be in the first couple spots so I can get some clean laps right away!

For S2 (the first timed session) I was lined up behind the current TTA track record holder; what else but a C5 Vette! We did 3 laps hard laps and I could gain on him in a few spots, but he'd pull away in a few spots too. My best was a 1:40.0 - while his transponder didn't register. Sucks... as we had to be close!

For session #3 I made my 1st wing adjustment and fired a 1:39.3 which broke the track record for TTA! The car felt more planted and I liked it! Session #4 was at 2pm and it was starting to get pretty heated up. I made another adjustment and thought the car pushed a bit. Best was a 1:40x. Session #5 was at 3:40pm; hot hot hot. I backed the wing off 1 step and ran another 1:39x but not better than before as track conditions were degrading quickly.
The car was also sorta hopping in low speed turns under hard throttle. It did this a bit last year in 3rd gear corners, I assumed because the turbo comes on so quickly there. With the new 2011 alignment it's been better, but apparently it's back! I can drive around it, but it's not ideal so I hope to be making some adjustments down the road....

My 1:39.3 stood for 1st out of 6 in TTA. I also ended up with FTD of the entire TT group! It was pushed hard all day through 5 sessions, high revs, high oil temps, high boost, etc and responded with flying colors. Thanks as always to AMS Performance for a truely terrific tune!

Here's vid from the last session, looking backwards under the new Kognition wing; enjoy in HD!

Friday, June 3, 2011

After running the APR GTC-200 wing for 3 weekends this year, we came to the conclusion that we needed a bigger wing. I know it was helping keep the rear more stable, but I am just not sure how much of an improvement it is over the big OEM wing. And with the NASA TT point system, a rear wing is +4 pts; so it better be working!

I pulled out my earlier research on wings; prices, sizes, claims, lead-times, etc. I found a good deal on a trunk mounted option from Kognition and put in my order. While it was a bit later than expected, it arrived a few weeks back and the Evo will be running it this weekend. Codename 'Config 2K'. And I'll be making a LOT of testing changes as this wing is pre-slotted for everything from 5 to 18 degrees AoA (Angle Of Attack). I fully expect the car to be very push-heavy at some point this weekend; or else we'll be back to the drawing board!